Kristin Luna

San Francisco has been in a Warhol frenzy of late, enjoying an ArtPoint panel discussion of his work, an exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum (running through Feb. 3), and now a chance for budding artists and theatrical types to give their best Warhol impersonation. Yes, you read that right: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and father-son duo, Rene and Rio Yañez from SOMArt, are looking for Warhol fanatics or wannabes to assume the role of the iconic artist himself in a handful of public appearances. Auditions will be held this Saturday, Jan.

In general, Palo Alto and "culinary mecca" aren't necessarily synonymous terms. But former Google god, Charlie Ayers, the chef behind the multi-billion-dollar company's dining success, has set out to change that. First order of business: Bringing a much-needed, top-notch eatery to Palo Alto's once-forgotten Town & Country Village.

ArtPoint, a Fine Arts Museum affiliate whose goal is to encourage young professionals to become more involved in the local art scene, packed 111 Minna Gallery Thursday night with its first aMuse lecture series event of the 2009 season. The discussion "15 Minutes with Andy Warhol" (which lasted closer to two hours than 15 minutes) gave local art lovers a chance to parse Warhol's work and its lasting effects on the art community, even 22 years after the Pittsburgh, Penn. native met his untimely death.

Now that the parties are over, it's time for all this change to take place (word on the street is that was kind of Obama's MO). The new prez, a fellow jetsetter himself, has promised to make traveling easier on the masses. Here's what globetrotters have to look forward to in the coming four (maybe eight) years.

We're off to see the wizard...the wonderful wizard of Oz! In celebration of Broadway's smash hit, Wicked, coming to town next week, two of San Francisco's top-notch restaurants, Roots and Daffodil, housed at the city's greenest hotels (sense a recurring theme here?) are rolling out special menus just for the occasion (guys, take note: they're doing all the date planning for you!).

Not every bride-to-be is fortunate to have her own Mindy Weiss (wedding planner to the stars - think Eva Longoria, Jessica Simpson and Avril Lavigne). Nope, sometimes we actually have to plan it ourselves. Which, let's be honest, sometimes sucks.

Enter The Four Seasons. All day on Jan. 18, the luxury hotel will play host to the San Francisco Wedding Fair, where bride-to-bes can sip champagne, listen to the sweet sounds of a string quartet and drink, er, plan away her worries with the help of a panel of professionals.

Sick and tired of your current life? Dream of somewhere nice and tropical and far from the Bay Area, because sometimes you just need to get away? Vacations to exotic locales are not really on many people's list of things to do this year--at least until the rapidly declining unemployment rate reverses itself. However, you're in luck. The Queensland tourism board in Australia is going to bring one lucky gal or guy to Hamilton Island (the central hub for the Great Barrier Reef) for an entire six months, to serve as the “island caretaker" as part of its "Best Job in the World" campaign. What does an island caretaker do, you may want to know?

Planning on staying home in your cozy bed this weekend warding off the Bay Area drizzle? That’s suddenly not going to sound so good when you hear what we have to tell you. For one day only--Saturday, Jan. 10--100 ski resorts in 23 states sprinkled across the country are offering snow bunnies the opportunity to try cross-country skiing or snowshoeing FREE in celebration of the 14th annual Winter Trails Day, part of Learn a Snow Sport Month put on by SnowSports Industries America.

Don't let an unstable economy keep you at home this year. Instead, use it as an excuse to stay local and explore parts of your state you may have only ever seen on a map. Last week, we revealed five of our can't-miss spots for 2009. Read on for our remaining five picks of delectable escapes within driving distance.

2008 was the year of the staycation, and 2009 doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon. This is excellent news for California residents who have everything one could want--sand and snow, mountains and deserts, plains and valleys--all within the state's confines, plus some stellar ongoing deals on local getaways. In this two-part list, we'll tempt you with 10 can't-miss spots to visit in the coming 12 months--make it your New Year's resolution to hit them all.